USA/ UK: E-cigarette use among students - different national approaches

Vaping was introduced in the late 2000s and has gained popularity since then. The Center on Addiction of the USA describes vaping as the act of inhaling and expelling the aerosol, frequently referred to as vapor, that is created by an e-cigarette or other similar device. This term is used because e-cigarettes do not actually emit tobacco smoke, but rather a fine-particle aerosol that is frequently mistaken for water vapor.  

The American Food, Drug, and Administration (FDA)  affirm that 3.62 million middle and high school students were current users of e-cigarettes in 2018. According to a study from 2017 to 2019, e-cigarette use among U.S. high school students increased from 11,7% to 27.5%. In 2022, a survey from January and May says that more than 2.5 million US middle and high school students use e-cigarettes. 

Over the years, dealing with student e-cigarette use at school is challenging for American school teachers and administrators. Due to the continually changing nature of e-cigarette products and the lack of comprehensive e-cigarette regulation, school rules and instruction are especially important. 

The Pro-Children Act, in 1994, prohibited smoking in the U.S. E-cigarette bans and other tobacco restrictions at schools are linked to a decline in student tobacco use. However, in recent years no federal policy exists to restrict e-cigarette use at schools. This increase has been a serious public health concern in the country. In the lack of a federal school tobacco policy that includes e-cigarettes, states, towns, and individual schools are now responsible for prohibiting e-cigarette use in their schools. 

In the UK, the proportion of children vaping is rising, up from 4% in 2020 to 7% in 2022. English school administrators have reported that students have been found vaping in restrooms and that some have been coerced into selling cigarettes in exchange for free ones. In order to address the issue, the schools have implemented a number of measures, such as metal detector wand searches, CCTV, a limit on the number of pupils who can use a restroom simultaneously, and keeping the outer doors to restroom blocks open to discourage disruptive behavior.

In 2022, the Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) released new national guidance for schools, to support staff in developing their policies around vaping. This guidance is designed to support the implementation of evidence-based school policies.  The headline message is that vaping is not for kids. 

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